


take the world by storm

by lunarpaddle



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, I just think it's cute okay. winter and spring. gay maybe, Time Travel Fix-It, classic travelling back from an apocalyptic future stuff, except also nuts and dolts, spring maiden!Ruby, winter maiden!Penny
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-18 15:33:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29611548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lunarpaddle/pseuds/lunarpaddle
Summary: “I’ve spent the entire day saying goodbye to the people I love, and I just found out that the one person I care about more than any of them can actually come with me – that I’m not going to have to try and befriend a version of the love of my life that’s 10 years younger than me, that I’ll never get to be with, and pretend I’m okay with it.” Ruby tugs Penny into her arms, resting her head on a bed of fiery hair. “That I don’t have to bear the entire weight of saving the world alone. So – yeah. Struggling to be too upset.”Penny laughs, and presses a small kiss to the base of her neck.---Ruby finds a way back in time, to fix the world before it can break at all - but more than anything, she's just glad she doesn't have to do it alone.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, Penny Polendina/Ruby Rose
Comments: 11
Kudos: 97





	1. beginnings

Ruby is exhausted. A whole day of tearful goodbyes, of warnings and preparations and questions – it takes it out of you. It was funny really – she was only doing this at all because of all the people she’d lost, but as the time for it drew closer she only grew more aware of all the people she still had.

Of the one person she still had to say goodbye to – maybe the hardest of all of them.

A knock came at the door, and Ruby couldn’t help but smile as she got up from her seat on the bed. Penny didn’t need to knock – even if this wasn’t her bunk just as much as it was Ruby’s, there wasn’t a door on the base that wouldn’t open for her. Probably not a door on Remnant, to be honest – not with some of the upgrades they’d worked on together.

She still always knocked, though. She was sweet, like that.

“Hey,” Ruby says as she opens the door, wincing at the sound of her own voice. Even she could tell how awful she sounded, especially in comparison to her usual cheer – voice raspy from all the sobbing, worn out from all the convincing. “I, uh – I’m glad you came.”

She can see the way Penny’s body tenses at that – knows every signal that’s being sent, every strand of dust-infused carbon that’s contracting. Penny looks exhausted, too – an impressive feat, given that she can’t suffer the physical effects of tiredness, but the grubby clothes and hastily packed bag and drained expression on her face do all the telling for her.

“I am very angry at you, Ruby Rose,” Penny says – Ruby winces again. Penny only really slips back into using her full name these days when she’s really excited or really mad, and by the way the air in the room feels like it’s literally starting to freeze she can guess at which one it is right now.

“Penny, I know I should have told you sooner, but we really didn’t know if it was going to work and then – “

“Ruby,” Penny interrupts, and she startles as she feels mechanical hands reach for hers, pulling her closer. “I have every intention of admonishing you, and you have a lot of explaining to do, but there will be plenty of time for that. Right now I have two priorities – kissing my partner who I haven’t had a chance to see in several months, and then explaining to her exactly how much of an idiot she’s been.” 

Ruby’s mind catches, stutters – what she was saying didn’t make any sense, the whole point was that she didn’t have any time left with Penny, not with this Penny – but then blissfully cool lips meet hers, and she can’t think at all.

“It’s cute,” Penny says as she finally draws back, “how that still happens every time.”

“I – what?” Ruby says, still dazed, before she notices the roots that have punched their way up through a floor that doesn’t have any dirt beneath it, the petals still forming around their feet. She blushes. “It’s – that’s not – I haven’t had these powers as long as you, alright? It’s tricky!”

Penny just smiles, reaches into her pocket, and passes her what looks like – a computer drive? 

“My second priority,” Penny says, seeing her confused expression. “That’s how I’m coming back with you.”

Ruby’s heart wrenches, and she turns around and walks back into the centre of her room.

“You can’t come with me Penny, you – no one can! The crown will only take one of us back, and the lamp only transfers memories in person – “

“If only,” Penny’s arms reach around her waist, pulling her back gently, “you knew someone who’s memories could be removed, and say, stored on a device of some kind?”

Ruby freezes.

“I – you – the crown only gives you an hour in the past, the drive would disappear when I did – “

“Which isn’t a problem, given that I’ve formatted the data so that it will fit on a standard scroll, and set it to transfer immediately when connected to one.”

“But – how did you get the data that small – unless – “

“Unless I used the memory compression algorithm _you designed_ to increase the amount of sensory data I could store?” Penny snorts at the small groan she makes. “It couldn’t store everything – the memories are mostly just comparatively low quality audio and visual data alongside emotional content – but it’s still at least twice as detailed as human memory by my calculations. You know you don’t even maintain the vast majority of visual data in your memories? Your brain just fills in the gaps, like a frankly over-charged form of compression – “

This time it’s Ruby that gets to cut Penny off with a kiss, not caring that she can feel the room fill up with life as she does so, effusive and unstoppable – it’s not like this room, or this timeline, will last much longer anyway.

“You were right,” she says as they drift apart and sit down on the bed, side by side. “I am an idiot.” 

“Statistically, I am right a very large percentage of the time – which is why,” Penny’s eyes light up with green fire, patterns of ice starting to form on the leaves around them, “It is very important that you _consult_ with me before making decisions like these!”

“I know,” Ruby says, trying her best not to smile. “I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”

“You do not sound very contrite, Ruby Rose,” Penny says, crossing her arms – she’d maybe be a little bit worried, if she couldn’t tell Penny was trying just as hard to conceal a grin.

“I’ve spent the entire day saying goodbye to the people I love, and I just found out that the one person I care about more than any of them can actually come with me – that I’m not going to have to try and befriend a version of the love of my life that’s 10 years younger than me, that I’ll never get to be with, and pretend I’m okay with it.” Ruby tugs Penny into her arms, resting her head on a bed of fiery hair. “That I don’t have to bear the entire weight of saving the world alone. So – yeah. Struggling to be too upset.”

Penny laughs, and presses a small kiss to the base of her neck.

“You won’t be able to hold me like this, when we go back. You’ll be tiny again.” Penny says, voice full of laughter.

“I mean, I’m not complaining that you won’t have any excuse not to be the big spoon anymore – “

“Oh, right, I forgot that there was a reason I deliberately remained at the same height through progressive updates – “

Ruby cuts her off with another kiss, and they sit there for a while, arms around each other, just – breathing it all in.

“We won’t be maidens anymore,” Ruby says, voice quieter now. Penny hums a note of agreement, pressing herself a little tighter into their embrace.

“It’s a shame,” she replies after a while. “I didn’t know how to feel about it at first, but now – it is almost like a part of me. It _is_ a part of me. I will be sad to lose it.”

“At least you won’t be losing any muscle mass,” Ruby comments. “I’m just praying that the lamp transfers over muscle memories as well as the normal kind, or I’m going to be useless in a fight.”

Penny snorts. It’s as cute as it always has been.

“I cannot ever imagine you being useless in a fight, darling. We are going to need to have a session together as soon as possible, though – I don’t want to go without my more recent upgrades for too long.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem,” Ruby says with a grin. “Besides you having to get out from under Ironwood’s thumb, of course.”

“I am not worried,” Penny replies. “I have plenty of experience of – how did you put it? ‘Scaring the ever-living shit out of Ironwood’? I do not think it will be a problem.”

Ruby laughs at that, bright and clear and ringing true. She’s going to change the past, with her amazing partner right by her side – she’s going to save her sister, and protect her teammates, and kick the ever-loving shit out of Salem. For the first time that day, she doesn’t feel an ounce of worry.

“Babe,” she says, smile threatening to split her face open, “We are going to take the world by storm.”


	2. returns

Ruby feels like – like everything, like the world is forcing its way in-between her eyes, like everything she’s ever known is turning itself upside-down at once. Which, well – it is.

She collapses to her knees on the cold bathroom floor, putting every bit of effort she has into not making a sound. It’s not painful, per se, but she still wants to scream, and she doesn’t think that would be a good idea – her teammates are going to find out anyway, of course, but they aren’t the only ones that might hear.

Her body already feels unfamiliar, and she decides that’s probably a good thing – a tick in the column for retaining muscle memory, at least. She – god. She can feel her head struggling, feel 10 years worth of memories trying to settle in all at once. When she’d talked to Oscar about this he’d laughed, and then sat her down to give her a crash course on how to reconcile two people into one – she hadn’t even considered that problem at the time. 

She’s grateful for the advice now, trying to focus on – on just accepting it, on not bothering to try to distinguish between herself and herself, on the places where their memories are one and the same, on the single soul uniting her. It’s easier for her, probably – as much as Oscar and Ozpin were, in a weird, technical kind of way, the same person, she actually is just Ruby.

On the other hand, she had to do all this a lot quicker than he had. 

It takes a while, but eventually her breathing starts to calm down. She turns herself around, still not feeling quite up to standing, to see – herself. Lying there, just… empty. Unlike Penny’s memories, human memories couldn’t be copied – just moved. The process was… not fatal, perhaps, considering that she was still her, but certainly not good for the original body.

She reaches down to take the drive she knew she’d find in her old body’s pockets, linking it up to her scroll in a hurry – she honestly couldn’t say how long she’d been kneeling there, and when the crown’s hour was up this would all disappear. Turn to dust, just like the Grimm.

Her scroll beeps – thank god for the speed of modern (future?) technology – and a video appears on screen.

“Hi, Ruby. If you’re seeing this, it means the transfer completed successfully – this scroll should already be reaching out feelers to the CCT, making some alterations ready for sending me across. You know the next step – get Weiss to take you into the tower, plug me into a console. You can do this! I love you so much, and I hope the transfer wasn’t too hard on you. Good luck, and I shall see you soon!” 

The video ends, and her entire body calms down a little with it. She still has Penny. Everything’s going according to plan. She’s got this.

The others should be down at breakfast by now. She’d picked her ‘best day ever’ – mostly because it was a date she could remember – and in the original timeline she’d spent all morning hastily putting together a binder on her plans. It was sitting outside in the room now actually – tragically likely to go unused.

She’d decided to tell them all, straight away. It had been a controversial decision – even Blake hadn’t fully approved – but she knew it was the right thing to do. So many of their problems had come from secrets and lies, and she needed her team’s trust on this. Needed her team on this. That was the other reason she was here now, instead of at the start of the school year – she’d needed her team to be properly a team, to be invested in listening to her and sticking together. 

“Ruby?” comes an all too familiar voice, and she – she feels like she’s going to break, it’s been so long – and the body’s fading away next to her, which is a problem, since she’d counted on having it to show as proof to at least one of them – and – 

“You in here?” Yang says, pushing the bathroom door open. “Looks like you got a bit carried away planning, huh – “

Yang looks down at her, kneeling on the floor, face streaked with tears, and pulls her into a hug without another word. 

Ruby cries, and cries, and cries.

\---

“So,” says Weiss, a distinct note of petulance audible in her voice despite the situation, “are you going to tell us what happened?”

Ruby laughs a little at that, a wet, exhausted laugh, never losing her grip on Yang.

“Yeah I – I am. It’s just… a really long story.”

“How long can it be?” Blake asks, forehead creased.

“Hey, guys, give her some space. She can tell us when she’s ready, I’d think you – “ Yang starts, but they don’t actually have all the time in the world, at least not just yet, so – 

“I came from the future,” Ruby says. Not quite how she’d planned it, but hey. 

The room is silent.

“I know I, uh, don’t look old or anything – I transferred my memories back into my younger body, kinda? But I’m… I’m 25, actually. Not 15.”

The team share a concerned look.

“It’s – fuck, there’s some proof on here somewhere,” she pulls out her scroll, ignoring the audible gasp from all three of her teammates at her swearing. “Um – I totally forgot the prompt for this, uh, Proof? Evidence? Future? Please?”

The scroll lights up with a video screen once again – this time, there’s two faces. Penny, and a much older, much more scarred, Ruby.

“You are most certainly going to forget the passcode for this, Ruby,” Penny says, grinning. 

“Hey! I – Well – yeah, alright, maybe. Just make it Please, or something?”

“Noted,” says Penny. “Yang, Blake, Weiss. This message is intended to serve as proof that Ruby’s claims are true – that she does indeed have 10 years worth of memories that you all do not, and that the situation is as dire as she claims. Blake, Weiss, I intend to enclose messages from you future selves – this will not be possible for you, Yang, as you are no longer with us.”

Ruby feels a twinge of sadness at that, but - well, it's hard to feel too sad about it when Yang's right here.

“Penny!” Video-Ruby exclaims, forehead creased, elbowing her partner lightly. “You don’t have to tell her that straight away! And you don’t have to be so formal either!”

“I am merely trying to impress upon them the importance of the situation, Ruby. Besides, I was much more formal when we first met – I am sure this manner of speech will help to confirm my identity.”

“Alright, alright,” says the Ruby on the screen. “Look, guys, I know you’re all going to think I’m crazy. If I’m lucky, I’ll get a hold of one of you before this body fades away, but otherwise you’re just going to have to trust me. This is really important stuff – we’re not travelling back in time over just nothing – and at least for that first day I’m back, it’s going to be really important that we move fast. Please, just – listen to what I have to say, alright?”

The video flickers off. 

“See?” Ruby says, turning back to her team. “That was so definitely an older me, and the technology to fake that doesn’t exist, at least – “

She stops when she sees their faces. Weiss’s is just – blank, stone cold, as if she’s too busy thinking to even emote. Blake’s is horrified – she’s reached her arm over to Yang, gripping Yang’s arm so tightly her knuckles have gone white. And Yang – 

Yang just looks so, so, sad.

“How – how long?” Yang asks. 

“I don’t – what?”

“How long has it been, since you last saw me?” 

Ruby gulps.

“Um…alive? It’s – it’s been about, um – th-three years? But – “ 

Yang throws her arms around her again, and this time Ruby just about manages not to burst into tears, holding her tight instead.

“I’m so sorry, Rubes. I’m so, so sorry.”

They sit there for a while, just…processing. The bell for class goes and nobody cares – there’ll probably be a teacher along later to ask what happened, but for now – 

“So, are you like, _my_ big sister now?” Yang asks, and the tension breaks – Ruby bursts into laughter, pulling back from Yang just to catch her breath.

“I missed you so much,” she says, still laughing, “And you’ll always be my big sister.”

“So, what, we’re just taking this at face value?” Weiss says, voice scathing. It’s a cover, of course – Ruby knows her too well now to see it for anything other than the defence mechanism it is.

“Yup,” says Yang, before Blake can even comment. “That was my sister on that video – this is my sister – and if she says we need to trust her, we need to trust her.”

“Yang,” Blake says carefully, “I know you want to trust her, but it might not be that simple. Even if Ruby thinks it’s true,” she gets an apologetic glance from Blake at this, “It could still be a trick, or a trap – some kind of semblance, maybe? We don’t know – “

“Guys,” Ruby interrupts. “Just – just watch the videos, okay? I’ve sent them to you – you’ll probably want to watch them in private, so we can like, go for a walk or something? Between the bathroom and the bedroom you should manage. Just…watch them? Please?”

Blake and Weiss share a look that Ruby’s grown all too used to seeing – concern, exasperation, reluctance all mixed into one – but they always go along with her ridiculous plan anyway, and this time is no exception.

“Alright,” Weiss says. “I’ll take the bathroom.”

“Awesome!” Ruby exclaims, tugging Yang to her feet. “I’ve got some business to go take care of quickly anyway – back in an hour or so?” 

“Um, sure, I guess? Where are you guys – “ The door shuts behind her before Blake can finish.

“Good to see you’re not too different,” Yang laughs as she’s dragged behind Ruby. “And, uh – are those flowers sprouting up behind you?”

Ruby looks down, and they absolutely are. 

Oh, shit.


	3. premonitions

“Hey, Blake. You’re probably feeling pretty overwhelmed right now. You’re… god, you only just told everyone you were a Faunus, right? It’s a lot, I know. 

If there’s anything else I know about you, it’s that there’s no way in hell you’re going to trust this message straight off the bat. I wouldn’t. We’ve always been that for the team – the one who takes a step back, who asks if maybe this is a bit too good to be true. You need to keep being that – Ruby’ll be a bit better now, with 10 years more to her name, but she can still be naïve. As for Yang and Weiss, well – they both got a lot more discerning over the years, but hopefully a lot of the shit that made them so cynical won’t have to happen now.

That said, you need to trust the team. No questions, no if’s or but’s. Unequivocally. Penny, too – she actually got mind-controlled once, which I know is the kind of thing that mostly happens in our paranoid daydreams, but even that didn’t stop her from fighting it off and saving our asses. She’s sensible, too, more so than any of our teammates – you’ll grow to appreciate that.

Anyway. Proof. Let me see, uh – oh, you have a massive crush on Yang. Like, continent sized, all-consuming kinda crush. I can’t speak for you two – you’ll be different people than we ever were – but I'll say that you really can trust her not to hurt you like Adam did. You’re lucky to get – to get to keep her.

…Fuck, I didn’t mean to get all maudlin. You’re going to have it so much better, Blake – I'm not even mad that this me isn’t going to exist much longer. Not if it means that you, that all of you, get to – 

Look. The long and short of it is this – I know you’re scared, and you have every right to be. You’re going to go up against things you could never even have imagined, but you’re going to win – you’re going to be so much more badass and powerful than you ever dreamed, you’re going to kick Adam’s ass and remake the White Fang in our parent’s image, you’re going to change everything. But you have to trust your team, alright? Trust Ruby, trust Weiss, trust Yang, trust Penny. They’re your family – I know you see them that way, even now – and they won’t let you down.

Fuck some shit up for me, all right? Especially Adam’s face.

Good luck.”

\---

“Hello, Weiss. 

Honestly, I’m not entirely sure what to say. You’re so different to me, now – I’m not sure how much this’ll even help, but Ruby asked, so…

Okay, let’s do this methodically then. Step 1: Proof. You hate your father, you wish your mother would just stop drinking and come back to you, a part of you thinks you don’t really deserve all the care Klein and Winter have shown you. A part of you wishes they were your parents – they are, in some ways, although you’ll be glad to know that our mother at least pulls her head out of her ass eventually. You’ve never been able to summon, and you think it’s your greatest shame, but you’re actually starting to realise that the way you think about Faunus is much worse. It is. Fix your shit, past-Weiss.

That enough? I’m just going to assume it is, so – Step 2: What to do about it. Mostly, just – do whatever Ruby says? That’s pretty good general advice actually, at least when it comes to really important things – you’re safe to ignore her when it’s about cookies, or whatever. I know there’s still a part of you that thinks she’s immature, but – well, she’s still a little immature even now, but it’s what makes her her you know? It’s what makes her the kind of person to come up with a ridiculous, amazing plan like this. She has hope, and she always will – she knows what’s right, and her moral compass will always be one it’s safe for you to follow. 

It’s going to suck for you a bit, I think – your Ruby is gone, and your new partner’s going to be pretty busy. There’s plenty you can do, though – focus on getting your family on side, especially Winter. Ironwood – he isn’t good people, and in our time-line it took her a long time to realise that. I have a clip on here for her too, actually, but you’re still going to have to do a lot of leg-work. Between you, her and Whitley – yes, Whitley, it turns out he actually really likes being a good person when you give him a chance – you should be able to deal with our father. You _need_ to deal with our father. You have no idea how awful he actually is – suffice it to say he’s one of the people we’re trying to save the world from.

Step 3: General Advice. You – you can be a really good person, Weiss, if you try. It took me a long, long time to realise it, but it’s true. You’ve had a lot of awful shit instilled in you, but even now you’re fighting against everything your father taught you – you just have to keep going. You care about people so much – you don’t have to hide that, not from your friends. It’s not a weakness, it’s what makes you strong. Follow your heart, and follow Ruby’s heart when yours gets confused. Recognise that you are just, completely wrong about the Faunus, and put in the work to change without making a fuss. Fight for the people you love, and don’t be afraid to get your hands a little dirty. Show yourself the same respect and care you’d show anyone else – you deserve to be happy.

Also, you're gay. Like, really, really gay. Have fun with that.”

\---

"You know, Yang, it makes it awful hard for me to turn a blind eye to your shit when you pick my favourite bar to come drink in." Qrow says, staring dead-eyed into his drink. You can see a lot more in the reflection of a drink than people realise - makes for good ominous vibes, when needed.

"I'm not here to drink, Uncle Qrow," replies Yang as a brisk wind blows in from behind him, smelling of spring and dew and -

Roses.

"Well you're definitely to young to drink here, Ruby. What the fuck is it you think you're doing?"

"I'm not, actually, but that's not really the point. Mum's alive." Qrow feels that like a blow to the stomach and he's on his feet in a second, scythe unravelled. If it wasn't Ruby - fuck, maybe if it was, this shit was why Summer was always on his back to stop -

"Get out."

"Nope." Comes the reply from Ruby, and now that he looks at her, really looks at her - something's off. Something's really fucking off.

"Yeah, you're right actually - you're gonna be coming with me, instead."

"Also nope. Ozpin - well, he probably can be trusted at some point, but certainly not yet. Also, we don't have time for that - Mum's alive, we need to go get her."

Qrow advances, gears turning in his head as he tries to work it out - she's, what, possessed? No, seems too much like her style of speech, too realistic - mind control maybe? Some kind of semblance? Magic, even? 

"Qrow, we really don't have time to fight this out. Also, I'd win. I'm from the future, Ozpin isn't as trustworthy as you think, Salem can't be killed but that doesn't mean we can't beat her, and Mum's alive and I need your help to put things into motion so we can rescue her as soon as possible. Rescue all of the silver-eyed warriors she has captured, actually - I'm not sure if she's turned them into hounds yet."

Qrow - stops.

"You - what?" Ruby knows about her eyes? Knows about Salem? Knows about - okay, actually, _he_ doesn't know what a hound is. "I - you - that doesn't make any sense." 

He was too drunk for this.

"I used the relics. I'm the Spring Maiden, by the way," she says, letting a root escape her sleeve and twine around a finger before flowering, "and I used the lamp to do it, as well as the crown."

"I'm too drunk for this," Qrow says.

"Of course you fucking are," Yang mutters. "She's telling the truth, though. I've seen proof."

"Can I see proof?" he asks, kinda running on auto-pilot at this point.

"Sure," Ruby says, "I'll send it to your scroll. I need you sober, though, and we have to get my girlfriend back up and running before we go breaking down any doors, so how about I send it to you and you meet us tomorrow at the docks?"

"Your girlfriend?" Qrow asks, smirking, and at least this is familiar territory - at least he knows how to react to this. "Didn't know you were gettin' it, little Rose."

"At least he's reliably gross," Ruby mumbles. "And I'm not, or I - wasn't? But I - okay, actually, I hate this conversation and you suck. Bye, Uncle Qrow."

"Wait, what were you gonna say?" Yang asks Ruby as she follows her out of the door. "I mean, _do_ you - but like, your body is still - actually, fuck this, you're my little sister I _so_ do not want to..."

Qrow is left standing at the now empty bar, bartender staring at him.

"Don't worry," the woman says, "I didn't understand any of what they were saying enough to tell anyone."

"You know what?" Qrow says. "Me neither."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> really aiming for fastest de-canonisation of a fic out here, huh


	4. surprises

Beacon is – bright. Ruby isn’t used to it. Even when they came back, even years after it all happened – Beacon just wasn’t a bright place anymore. It’s nice, having that brightness back.

It probably helps that she’s about to finally get to see her girlfriend again. 

“You know,” Weiss says, “I still absolutely don’t believe you, obviously – but if I did believe you, about _all_ of it, I _still_ wouldn’t believe that you somehow ended up dating the robot.”

“Really?” Blake asks. “I can kind of see it. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who could match up to those two in… energetic-ness.”

“I’m right here,” Ruby says as Weiss mumbles something about that not being a word.

“Well I think it’s awesome!” Yang chimes in. “Also, come on guys – my little sister, the weapons nerd, ends up dating a living weapon? Is anyone surprised?”

“I hate all of you,” Ruby sighs. “I’m so, so ready to have someone sane around to talk to.”

Weiss practically shrieks.

“You – we - _sane_? How dare – “ 

“I did expect this to be weird,” comes a voice from above, “But I still do not think I was entirely prepared for this to actually happen. I do not think I have heard Weiss’s voice reach that particular cadence since – well, since a long time ago.”

Ruby is the one shrieking now, and she shoots into the air, rematerializing in a shower of petals behind Penny’s floating form.

“Penny!” she wraps her arms around her girlfriend, grinning as they float slowly down to the ground together. “I’ve missed you so much! Our friends are all even more terrible than before! Please help me!”

“Of course, sweetheart,” Penny says, spinning round to take her hands before looking back at the rest of the team. “Please do stop tormenting Ruby – she is but a weak, elderly lady, and her organic form is much more prone to the effects of age than mine.”

“Hey!” she retorts, feeling like her grin might split her head wide open. “You don’t get to make that joke anymore – I’m all like, young again now!”

“And yet,” Penny replies, “still utterly incapable of controlling the maiden powers you were so graciously gifted with.” 

There are flowers sprouting out of the pavement all around them. Shit. That definitely wasn’t inconspicuous.

Oh well.

“You bring it out in me, babe,” she says, leaning in for a brief kiss. “Also they so weren’t gifted! I killed Cinder for these Pen, I so earnt them!”

“Oh please, she was a mess after she lost the Fall, that hardly – “

“This is so weird,” Weiss says, and Ruby very suddenly remembers that other people exist.

“Yuuup,” Yang agrees. “Blake, can you slap me, I think I might be hallucinating.”

“I don’t think that would help,” Blake says, “but I could slap you anyway?”

“Hello, Blake, Weiss,” Penny says, turning to them fully now. “I’m sure this must be very confusing for the both of you. And you, Yang – “

Yang wraps Penny up in a hug with a speed almost matching Ruby’s earlier – she guesses hugging-Penny-powers run in the family.

“Thankyou,” Yang says, “For looking after my sister. From what I’ve heard, she sure needed it.”

Penny – you wouldn’t know it, if you weren’t, well, Ruby, but Penny is on the verge of tears. The rush of cool air, the tensing in her shoulders –

“Oh Yang,” Penny says, pulling back slightly to look up at her, wiping at her eyes. “I have really, truly missed you.”

\---

They just wander around Beacon for a while after that. Ruby thinks Penny wants to take it all in as much as her, and she is so, so fine with that – just getting to walk the streets with her, holding her hand, bickering with their friends – 

It’s everything she never thought she’d get to have, and she’s loving every second of it.

“You know,” Penny says, “This place always held a special place in my heart. I wasn’t here very long, obviously, but – “ she glances away, looking up at the sky as she squeezes Ruby’s hand.

“But what?” Ruby asks, voice soft. The others are currently embroiled in an argument over which one of them would end up being the better fighter, something they had both refused to provide details on – she and Penny can have a moment to themselves.

“It’s where I met you,” Penny says, turning back to her. “Not just because of what we became, even – though that does play a large part in it – but because of everything that ended up meaning for me. I like to think I still would have made the right choices – turned away from Ironwood, fought the good fight – but here, meeting you, was the first time ever really treated me like…like I was just me.”

Ruby smiles. She knows what Penny means, in a way – god knew that for the latter section of the war she was treated as more myth than person, the silver-eyed warrior, the spring-maiden, the saviour of Remnant – but she always had her childhood, still. Always had that time where she was just…her. 

“I mean, yeah,” Ruby decides on saying, nudging into Penny with her shoulder. “Who else are you supposed to be?”

Penny snorts, rolling her eyes, and turns to press her lips to Ruby’s again.

She’ll never get over that being a thing that gets to happen to her.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t last.

“You guys are _together_?” comes a pitched, resonating yell from far too close to Ruby’s ears.

“Nora, please,” comes another voice, one that she hasn’t heard in nearly a year.

“Well I think it’s lovely – congratulations, Ruby, Penny. You make a wonderful couple.” 

And that voice – that voice she hadn’t heard in far, far longer.

\---

Ruby is freaking out a little bit – well, a lot, a really large amount, but she is an adult and perfectly capable of keeping her emotions to herself, even despite her current body.

She takes comfort in the fact that Penny is clearly freaking out as much as she is, and even more comfort in the fact that she’s the one having to deal with being bombarded with questions by Nora and Jaune.

“Ruby,” Weiss says from beside her, “would you mind coming with me to check-in at the CCT? I need to make sure my actions yesterday haven’t been…noticed.”

Ruby glances over at Penny and receives the slightest of nods in response – even being talked/yelled at by Nora, Penny can always hear everything going on in her vicinity. 

“Sure,” Ruby says, happy to have an excuse to get away from the whole situation. “Lead the way!”

“You know the way to the CCT, Ruby,” Weiss says, but she still walks off down the nearest side-street without waiting for Ruby to follow. It’s nice – it’s not the same as it was with her Weiss, but it is still Weiss, and she finds some comfort in that.

“So,” Weiss says as they make their way towards the tower, “What happened to Pyrrha?”

Ruby has to stop herself quite literally jumping 10 feet off the floor.

“What? How do you know about that?” She asks, still reeling a little. Weiss just grins.

“Wow. I didn’t realise how cathartic it would be to be the one surprising you after the last couple of days,” she replies. “And it was pretty obvious you were upset about something, and you were clearly avoiding looking at Pyrrha, and – well, something like that clearly isn’t off the table, considering Yang.”

“So you do believe me then!” 

“Just answer the question, Ruby.”

Ruby sighs, casting her eyes down to the floor.

“She died. Before – before anyone else. She died, and Penny’s body was destroyed, and Beacon fell. That was how the end began, really.”

Weiss nods, expression thoughtful.

“That’s horrible. How are you feeling, about seeing her again?” Weiss was always so thoughtful – people didn’t see it a lot of the time, but when it was just her and Ruby, and later on just her and any of the team, she made it so obvious. But – 

“Weiss,” Ruby starts, “I – thankyou, for asking, but it’s not – I’m here to look after you, not the other way around. I’m an adult now, even if I don’t look it, and – “

“Ruby, if you just become another adult that treats us all like infants, I swear to the brothers I will stab you through with Myrtenaster whilst you sleep.”

That stops Ruby in her tracks. She blinks, staring confused at Weiss till she speaks again.

“Look, this is obviously complicated. You’re a different person now, and my Ruby is gone, and your Weiss is gone, but – I just think it would be a shame, if we couldn’t be friends now, just because of that. If we couldn’t be partners. I promised I would be the best team-mate I could be, and I’m not going to give up on that just because you had to go and suddenly turn into an old woman.”

“I can’t believe Penny said that to you all,” Ruby groans, “I’m never going to escape it now, am I?”

“Probably not,” Weiss says, smirking. “Look, you don’t have to talk to me, but – this is what we get, now, and I think with everything that’s coming our way we’ll need to try and make the best of it.”

“Yeah,” Ruby says, “I know. Thanks. Still not talking to a 17 year old about my feelings, though.”

“Whatever,” Weiss replies. “Ruby Rose, refusing to talk – I guess things really have changed.”


End file.
